Twitches 3
by CLARK-and-LOIS-KENT
Summary: Set after Twitches Too. The council is coming to test the twins on their knowledge of magic. If they don't pass, they will risk losing their magic forever. This year there is a twist. If the Student doesn't pass, their teacher loses their magic too.
1. Chapter 1

"Concentrate." Ileana instructed. She focused her eyes in on her student. True to her word, they were having class on the lawn. The dragons were safely penned away. She saw Camryn take a deep breath, her eyes closed and sweat started to form on her brow. Ileana knew she was trying too hard. "Apolla, no." She sat down next to her student. "Watch." She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and cleared everything from her mind. She began to meditate. She could feel herself lift off from the ground.

"Cool." Camryn said. Ileana began to descend back to the grass. She looked at Camryn. "Clear everything from your mind. Relax you will get this." _At least I hope._ she thought. Camryn took a deep breath and relaxed. As hard as it was, she cleared everything from her mind. And then, slowly but surely, she began to float.

Not thinking, Ileana clapped her hands together once. Camryn opened her eyes and fell. "Oh, sorry." Ileana apologized. But she was excited. "You did it. You were finally able to mediate properly."

"I know." Camryn was just as excited. "But you never explained why I had to meditate in the first place."

Ileana opened her mouth to respond but the voice that spoke was not hers. "Meditation clears your mind and allows you to concentrate on the spell at hand." Camryn turned around and there stood her boyfriend, Demitri. "Am I right?" He asked Ileana. She nodded. He held out his hand and pointed at the air. A second later, a bright red rose appeared. "For you, your highness."

Camryn reached out and gently took the rose from him. She knew he was joking about the 'Your Highness'. He still worked in the kitchen and he finally had his magic back, thanks to Miranda, but he no longer had to call Alex, Camryn, Miranda or Aron 'Your Highness'. As a matter of fact, Aron and Miranda offered him a better job but he thankfully declined. Something about working in the kitchen builds up character. It didn't matter to her. She loved him anyway. And he loved her. She turned to her teacher. "Can I go, please?" She pushed out her lower lip into a puppy dog face. She didn't have to. First of all, she was a princess. Yes, she had duties, but when she wanted to take a break, it was allowed. Second, she matured a little bit. She still loved fashion, but now she put what was the right thing to do in front of what _she _wanted to do.

Ileana smiled. "Go, run, have fun. Class is over for the day anyway. I'll go see what Karsh is doing." Demitri held out his hand and Camryn took it. They started off on their journey but were stopped by Ileana. "Oh, I just remembered something I need to inform you about." The young couple turned. "We are meditating now to clear your mind. But you always won't have time to meditate before a spell. Just remember to relax and everything will go as you want it." With that said, Ileana turned and went in search of her newlywed husband.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Come on." Alex complained. Karsh had been waiting for her at the Barnes' house when she got home from school. It was time for magic lessons he had said. She put down her books and followed him to Coventry like a good little student but they had been practicing for hours now. Unlike her sister, Alex didn't need to meditate. She was always calm and relaxed before performing a spell. Instead of meditating, Karsh had her practice various spells out of a very large spell book.

"We're almost done." Karsh replied. He flipped the page in the magic book and found the spell he was looking for. Scrying. "Scrying is one of the oldest spells ever performed. You can scry to see other people in other dimensions. You can use any element to scry but water works best." He pointed to the table and a bowl of water appeared. "All you have to do is picture the person you want to see, stare into the bowl and say the spell."

Alex's watch beeped. Another hour gone. "Can we do this tomorrow? I have a ton of work I have to get done, not to mention Marcus and I have a date later."

"Artemis." Karsh said, stating her birth name. "Ileana and I are you and your sister's protectors. It is our job to teach you magic. It's not just Ileana and I that want you to learn this. But your mother and your father want you to learn as much as you can too. But even if we didn't _want _you to learn you _have _to learn."

"Why?" Alex asked. "Why so much so soon?"

"Because it's who you are." Karsh said. "You were born a witch. One of the twin daughters of Aron and Miranda. You can't deny who you are and who you are meant to be."

"I'm not denying anything. I know I'm a witch. I love being one. I really do. The princess thing not so much, but I am what I am. I can't change that and I wouldn't even if I could. But I am already going to school. This is like a major overload." Alex explained.

Karsh took in what she said and started to think. "Okay. You're right. We won't meet everyday. But we can't meet any less then four times a week."

"Deal. Right now I have to get ready for my date." She grabbed her book bag off the chair and ran out of the room.

He closed the spell book and stood in silence. "Having problems?" a voice he recognized asked.

"Just a few." He replied turning to his wife. Ileana walked up to him and laid her head against his shoulder. He snaked his arm around her shoulder. "Then again she does have a lot on her plate."

"We need to face the facts. If we keep pushing them, we're going to pull them apart, and believe me. I've seen that done once and it wasn't pretty." Ileana stated. "They've got lives to live in the Earth Dimension as well as lives to live here. Not to mention they've got love lives they have to keep up with."

"You're right." Karsh agreed. He leaned down and gently pressed his lips against hers.

"Are we interrupting something?" a male voice asked. They broke apart, both turning a light shade of red.

"No, Your highness." Karsh replied. "We were just discussing the girls' education."

"And?" Miranda asked.

"We think they need a break." Ileana answered. "If they would have grew up here on Coventry, it would be okay. But they grew up in the Earth Dimension. They have multiple lives to live all at once."

"Yes. We know." Aron agreed. "And we're sorry about that. But we have no other options. The council will be here soon and you know how ruthless and heartless they can be. The girls need to be prepared."

"Sir, if I may, why not tell the girls what is happening? That way they will grasp the seriousness of the situation and then do what they have to do to make sure they're ready."

"We thought about that." Miranda replied. "But it would only make the situation worse. You two have to swear that you won't reveal what is upon them."

"You know we won't." Ileana assured her.

"We know." Aron took his wife's arm and led her from the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Miranda sat in her thrown and looked at the letter in her hand. It was from the council, and it wasn't good news. Since Miranda took the magic away from the citizens of Coventry when Aron was first believed to be dead, and then returned it, they too would be tested. And if one student failed, Not only would Miranda and Aron lose their magic, they would lose their royalty status.

"You called?" a female voice asked. Miranda looked up from the letter and into the brown eyes of her friend and her daughters' protector. Ileana stood there, her hands at her side, a look of concern on her face.

"Yes. We have a serious problem." Miranda stood up and walked down the steps until she reached Ileana. She handed her the letter and then turned to look out the window, into the mystical sky.

When Ileana finished the letter, she was speechless. "How can they expect us to have every citizen in Coventry trained by the time they get here. There's just not enough time."

"I know." Miranda said. She still had her back to her. "I have an idea, but it would be extremely difficult."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Demitri looked at the clock in the kitchen. Only ten minutes until his shift was over for the day. "Demitri, Mr. and Mrs. Barnes are here. Take them some tea and scones." The head cook demanded. "When you're done with that, you are dismissed."

"Got it." Demitri said. He raised his hand and pointed at the table. A tray appeared with two hot cups of tea and a plate of scones. Since he had his magic back, things went a lot smoother.

He reached down to pick up the tray when a voice stopped him. "Leave it." He knew that voice before he saw where it originated from.

He turned and bowed. "King Aron." The other workers in the kitchen followed his lead.

Aron laughed. "You know you don't have to bow to me, Demitri. You're like family."

Demitri pulled himself up and looked into his king's eyes. "Thank you, sir. That means a lot to me."

Aron nodded. "Unfortunately I didn't come here to have a casual conversation. We need you in the conservatory." He picked up the tea tray and handed it to another kitchen waiter. "Please make sure that Mr. and Mrs. Barnes get this and then you're all relieved for the day."

Aron turned and headed out of the kitchen with Demitri hot on his heels. "Something's wrong." He said matter of fact.

"Yes, there is." Aron said.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When they got to the conservatory, it was completely packed. Witches and warlocks were everywhere. Demitri went off to find Camryn. Aron joined his wife, Karsh and Ileana.

"Excuse me, your highnesses." A young witch, probably about age sixteen, made her way to the front of the crowd. She bowed respectfully. "You asked us all here today. Said it was an emergency."

Karsh and Ileana exchanged worried glances. "Yes." Aron answered. "We did call you here today. Yes, there is a serious matter approaching." Now it was Alex and Camryn's turn to exchange glances. Instinctively their hands went to their amulets.

"The council is arriving within a fortnight." Miranda took over. Alex leaned into Camryn. "The council?" She whispered. Camryn shrugged her shoulders out of bewilderment.

"For those of you who do not know, the council is a group of elderly witches and warlocks who have been around for a long time. They test new witches and warlocks when they come of age. If the student passes every test that the council throws at them, they keep their powers. If they fail, they lose their powers forever. This year they've decided to make matters worse. If the student does not pass, not only will they lose their powers but their teacher will too."

"But you took our magic to begin with. This is all your fault." An angry warlock shouted.

"Yes, I made a huge and terrible mistake. And not only do I regret doing so, but it has come back to hurt us. Most of you who are old enough to remember; there are some members of the council who feel that Coventry is better ruled in their hands. If each and everyone of you do not pass your testing. We will lose our magic and our right to rule Coventry." Miranda let the bomb drop.

Alex and Camryn were speechless. This wasn't fair. Demitri gave Camryn's hand a reassuring squeeze. She turned to look at him. "It will be alright." He whispered into her ear.

Karsh and Ileana took over. "We asked you all here today so that you may help us. My wife and I will split this group up and teach you everything that you will have to know for the testing."

"I will take all the moon people and Camryn since I am her protector." Ileana paused. "And by moon people I mean everyone who was born at night and their power is greatest at night. Karsh will take all the suns and Alex. This won't be easy. You will be pulling long hours, you will get tired, and you will be stressed, and we _will _be pushing you. This is no longer an individual matter. This effects the whole kingdom."

"But what about our families?" a young man asked. "I have to run my family's farm. If I'm here all day, nothing will get done."

Aron stepped forward. "For all of you who this effects greatly, please accept our sincere apologies. We will be sending our staff to assist the families of everyone that will be here." With that being said, everyone calmed down.

"Classes will begin bright and early tomorrow for me." Karsh stated. We have had guest rooms prepared for those of you who have a long ways to travel to get here and those of you who wish to stay."

"My classes will begin in the evening and lasting through until about midnight." Ileana informed her students. "We both expect serious dedication on your parts. We will teach you everything we know and everything we can."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"I think we're unfair." A light feminine voice said. "Miranda and Aron did nothing wrong. They looked after Coventry and tended to its needs."

"That may be true, Lady Rhianna, but after Aron was thought to be killed, Miranda took magic away from everyone but the royal family and her daughter's protectors."

"Lord Grivveniss, you know she only did that because she thought was best at the time. Her and Aron have since returned everyone's magic." Lady Rhianna replied.

"I know. I truly do understand. But the future of magic is at stake." Lord Grivveniss stated.

"How about this?" Another voice from the council spoke up. "Aron and Miranda have proven themselves before. Let's not judge them before they prove themselves. If the students pass, we will, of course, continue to let them rule. If one student fails, we will take over Coventry. I hope it does not come to that. Like Lady Rhianna said, Aron and Miranda did nothing wrong."

"Why, Lady Fan, I think that is an excellent idea." Lady Rhianna praised her fellow council member. "All in favor?" One by one, all the council members raised their hands. Lady Rhianna looked to Lord Grivveniss. He too raised his hand. "It is settled."


End file.
